Written by Colin Dwyer at NPR.com
You’d be forgiven if you went to bed early having chalked up another win for New England.
After all, the Patriots may have been losing to the Philadelphia Eagles with just a few minutes to play — but they had Tom Brady under center, the man who has helmed countless fourth-quarter comebacks, including a rather historic one to win last year’s title game. He had thrown for nearly 500 yards and three touchdowns already by this point. Surely this Super Bowl would play out just like so many we’ve seen before, with Brady steering the Pats down the field to pull out the win — right?
It didn’t exactly pan out that way.
In a slobberknocker of a matchup, with both offenses looking unstoppable for much of the game, it was ultimately Philadelphia’s defense that made the decisive plays in the final minutes to win Super Bowl LII, 41-33. First, they forced an uncharacteristic fumble by Brady, then — after a brief drive by Philadelphia — they stopped the Pats again on the last drive of the game.
Now, the Eagles are Super Bowl champs for the first time in franchise history.
And, in a development that even a psychic would have had a hard time believing at season’s start, Nick Foles has been named Super Bowl MVP. The oft-maligned quarterback — who had been a backup riding the pine until a late-season injury sidelined franchise QB Carson Wentz — threw for more than 370 yards and went blow for blow with Brady, arguably the greatest player in NFL history.
In fact, it was Foles who connected on the game’s final haymaker, hitting tight end Zach Ertz for the go-ahead score with just a couple of minutes left on the clock.
But it was far from just Foles who led the Eagles’ relentless attack. Rookie running back Corey Clement racked up 100 receiving yards, including a touchdown, while ex-Patriot LeGarrette Blount gashed his former team’s defense for 90 rushing yards and a touchdown of his own.
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